thread of getting sw0le

i drink a lot of whole milk but that "gallon a day" business is crazy

i hit a PR last week! overhead press 100lb 3x5

did 2x2x2x2x2 of heavy box squats yesterday

Milo z. to thread he knows what's up

if you get annoyed by old dudes with wack form and young dudes doing curls, this thread is for you

if you get annoyed by people who don't squat past horizontal and put that foam roller thing on the bar, this thread is for you

my squat is good, my overhead press is feeble.

also my row form is pretty awful (via hilarious flexibility)

strict OHP always makes me feel so weak because i want to dip at the knees and get a little jump in.

about 6 months ago i could not even do an air squat to depth without falling over but my squat is pretty good now

are u guys gonna beat someone up

too old to get swole, but I support this thread

watch that lower back position, y'all

i am not getting sw0le, but i am getting fat. maybe i can get fat and sw0le.

Yes im always super deliberate on my lifts for fear of messing up my back xp

I'm just lurking here bc I'm somewhat interested, though I can barely lift my groceries

also bc cheering on harbl :)

i knew i'd hit some kind of beginner threshold for sw0leness when i found myself enjoying mark rippetoe youtubes for an hour at a time

haha otm

I recently hired a personal trainer on a contract for a tremendous number of sessions to ensure my commitment to working out, and despite certain small wrenches in the works, it's starting off nicely and making me feel good about the mid-term future of my physical and mental health. Last time I had a trainer I was only half-assing it (drinking tons (not drinking at all now) skipping sessions, not really 100% in the game) but the cosmetic results still blew me away. That's not what I'm in it for, and body definition is gravy that will make the other benefits extra good.

honestly part of the mental game with this for me was finally admitting to myself that yes, a strong minority motivation was 'cosmetic'

goole congrats on being sw0le :)

oh man i'm nowhere near my sw0le g0ls

learning to do olympic/power lifts *correctly* (or so i hope) in the past year or so has been really mind-blowing. sort of a light turning on: "so THIS is what it's supposed to feel like." I actually enjoy squatting, dead-lifting, and all that now. and i pretty much gave up any exercise that doesn't work at least a few muscle groups at a time.

i go to the gym every 4th day (doing yoga on the 3 days in between) and try to pack in the protein and i've never felt better in my life.

i think a big part of the mental game for me was that I realized for the longest time i'd actually do whatever I could to make things *easier* rather than build the foundations to really improve.

honestly part of the mental game with this for me was finally admitting to myself that yes, a strong minority motivation was 'cosmetic'

― goole, Thursday, October 25, 2012 11:01 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

people doing curls make me literally vomit

yeah. those kinds of things are such a total waste of time. you drop all that and all of a sudden your workout takes a 1/3 of the time and is 10x more effective.

i've cut the weight in half or more on every major lift over the past year or two just to connect or reconnect with form / what i'm actually doing / why i'm doing it and it's made such a huge difference. also yoga 4 core 4 life.

xp i don't get curl hate. done right they're amazing. cable press-downs on the other hand....

i am kind of doughy at the moment because my gym is 10 yards away from ground zero in this video and was shut for all of september http://vimeo.com/48399328. it's really nice at the moment because a lot of the guys seem to have quit or moved to another gym.

one thing i like about gyms in germany is the squat racks are always free because people are either doing curls (lol) or doing serious calisthenics (some of these dudes are amazing).

going in a couple of hours actually. iirc tonight i will squat 5x5 175lb (i.e. 1xBW), bench 5x5 100, row 5x5 100.

seriously, everyone on earth should squat. this is key to universal consciousness.

squat. eat broccoli, quinoa and sardines. live forever.

and if i see you using the foam pad on your barbell during the squat then i hope you poop accidentally during your first set.

I go 2 gym and do not squat, I have had back problems in my life and am worried about technique

start by doing 'air squats' ie no weight

when those get ok start with an empty bar. that's 45 lb, you could even start by holding up a couple of small dumbbells

i have bad knees (poss hereditary) and fear doing any leg-related lifts

yeah I do air squats already

when squatting to proper depth your knees are not being taxed so much xp

unless you have disk problems, i think squat is pretty a low risk exercise for your back. all the weight goes straight down your spine. there's not much torque. maybe give it a try with an unloaded bar to see how it feels.

saw a calisthenics guy do a one-handed chin-up last week btw. wanted to cry.

yeah make sure you don't stop your squat half-way, that is bad for your knees

i have 'bad knees' and they've never felt better after a year of this

i have turned around halfway when i've had to on a weight. it was agony. i have no idea what those guys who go to like 30 degrees above horizontal think they are doing.

xp otm. squats are good for strength but they are #1 for knees, groin and lower back stability

when i've had to bail on a weight, i mean.

lol i totally use the foam pad. i used to be so anti-foam pad but now i'm more anti-sores on my back.

xp goole caek carne asada otm, keep the weight off/low, keep tight form go low and back/knees should be ok.

what were you lifting to get sores?

it's spine/neck contact, guess this means i should take off the pad and get the bar where it's supposed to be.

low-bar position will fix that but it does take some getting used to

yeah i had the same issue until i figured out the right place to rest the bar

yeah i think part of the problem with the pad is it means the bar is less stable. it's kind of like people who wear gloves and running shoes. the barbell is the size it is for a reason, and unless your body is unusual proportioned, you're screwing that up.

i've had the benefit of some good coaching that has help me a bunch, otherwise i'd probably being doing a bunch of stuff wrong

if you've spent most of your life doing it wrong like me it really takes some time/dedication to turns things around. but eventually your body just starts to "set" better, even in daily life.

I work out with a personal trainer but have had some issues with them, mostly regarding injuries. I got sciatica originally from doing a lunge + dumb bell swing with them, which has flared up again recently (albeit this time it's at least partly my fault), but they tried to get me to do that same exercise since then and I've had to pipe up and say that I don't feel safe doing that. I've also been been dealing with golfer's elbow for what feels like months now, and our discussions about it have bugged me. One of their cues is to grip extremely hard whenever possible, which for tendonitis is exactly the wrong approach, right? I tried pushing back and at most they said that hard grips are a way to *prevent* tendonitis, which still doesn't sound right.

All this is to ask if it's time I tried to find someone else? I always dread these situations.

i think trust is a pretty non-negotiable condition for a personal trainer

like if you think they gave you sciatica and they’re wrong about tendonitis i’m not sure what sign you’re looking for to move on

Then I guess my question is if I'm right about my tendonitis assessment?

I think if you’re doing something that’s actively hurting you on their recommendation and they double down, then they are either not listening or are wrong. Both are red flags

yeah Leee i got no idea but it sounds like the relaysh is no bueno

i agree with the above but as far as the golfers elbow goes this thing has helped me with two gnarly and protracted bouts in the last 10 years: https://www.theraband.com/products/flexbar

i went to a brazilian jiu jitsu class today, the first time i have done any wrestling / grappling or martial art in my life. i basically have no instinct for moving aggressively against another person, so it was interesting and kind of funny to break that ice at 41. i ended up enjoying it, there's a pretty undeniable rush involved, and i'm letting myself pay for a 10 class pass. and a uniform i guess.

Curious: do you think a class like that would actually help you learn to fight someone irl? Asking for a friend, of course.

maybe? i have no idea tbh. i mean it is kind of fighting someone irl already, but with an off switch. where does grappling even happen irl? i'm curious why you ask that question.

the more i reflect on that first class, the more i want to keep going. there was something undeniably great about the experience. i felt different the rest of the day. it was activating in ways i've never felt before. just one class and like maybe 2 minutes total of rolling, all of it me clenched up like a mannequin and going straight into being immobilized lol. nb i have never been physically aggressive in my life, never played a sport growing up, etc. i see why people, i should say men, but women too of course, get into it. there's a t spike. so i mean it isn't fucking fight club or anything, it's a sport, it seems like a fairly safe sport especially for a martial art, especially considering the casual workout-focused 9-to-5 group of adults who were at this place. there also seems to be a lot of mindfulness and mechanical awareness. people call it physical chess or whatever.

wow i didn't mean to come off so prickly there tobo, that was meant to be a much friendlier response, sorry about that.

i have to admit i’ve been interested in trying “old school karate” - which is about dealing w realistic fighting situations, rather than preparing you for competitions - but unfortunately the guy moved to oxford -

https://www.oldschoolkarate.co.uk/about-us

All good. Not prickly at all. I’m not proud of why I asked - I’m in p good shape these days, running ultras and doing body weight strength work and yoga but have never done any martial arts and, full disclosure, I have someone in my life who has doing me very wrong for at least a year and I have occasional dark urges to get violent with that person. I have never ever engaged in such behavior. This person completely deserves it but more metta meditation is probably a better way to deal with this! I’m going to go do that right now.

The mental and social aspects of martial arts training make it a lot more fun for me than solitary running or lifting. There are always new demands on attention, judgment, and communication skills.

If you stay with it, you can continue to make progress for a long time. I'm in my 60s, my physician is in his 50s, we've both been active in different martial arts for decades. I asked him yesterday if he believes they are good for longevity. He said, "I think so, as long as you don't get hit in the head too much."

The advice I give to people who are considering training is to watch a club practice and see how it feels. If everyone is working diligently, there are smiles and laughter, and more experienced people are patient with less skillful people, all is well. If some people are slacking off and being ignored, while others are bullying or being bullied, go somewhere else.

Putting yourself in situations where you're trusting training partners not to injure you can teach you a lot about fear and aggression. Over the long term that kind of practice tends to make people more empathetic and less violent.

ah thanks for your input brad! i noticed something about the way some of the people in the class looked at me - with open, gentle, penetrating, encouraging eyes. it felt good! i was back at my gym this morning, and after the experience yesterday, i'm starting to really see why i get so annoyed at my gym. there are a lot of image-oriented people there. i am a little image-oriented myself. but not super proud of it, and being around just that day in and day out gets alienating and depressing.

Putting yourself in situations where you're trusting training partners not to injure you can teach you a lot about fear and aggression. Over the long term that kind of practice tends to make people more empathetic and less violent.

I was picking up on this a little bit! It rings true for me. I feel like not exercising aggressive energy in any way would ultimately make me more dangerous to myself and others.

Been switching it up and going to the gym more in the late afternoons and early evenings, which means I get the after school crowd, which I thought would annoy me, but is instead wonderful— makes me want to be a climbing coach tbh!

I do that at the fitness center where I work more lately and what I’ve noticed are a surprising number of inconsiderate people taking the entire space as if it’s still their private office and holding Zoom/Teams calls loudly while using the equipment.

Just like a real office

tell me about creatine

my 15-y-o is obsessed with getting swole and he says it’s fine. lotta information out there but not sure what to trust. what say the sw0lemind of ilx

Tracer, it’s more about the amount of creatine, and a lot of the packaging and stuff is deceptive.

For a first month, 5g a day is optimal.

Ever after, 2g a day is optimal.

Loading and unloading cycles with creatine have been proven to not help with strength or building muscle. It is better to maintain a small, 1-2g/day schedule than to load heavy and unload.

Creatine is fine but you have to make sure one of his friends doesn’t introduce him to the Liver King.

There's vague warnings of creatine possibly exacerbating hair loss but creatine is generally regarded as about as good as it gets in terms of effective and safe supplements, and it's cheap, with potential benefits in reducing the ravages of alzheimers as well.

At the same time, about 25% of people don't respond to it, possibly because they're already getting sufficient amounts through their diet? It might be more worth taking for a vegetarian/vegan adult than a kid in the throes of adolescence who is already plowing through a rotisserie chicken per day (or various organ meats if he's already been indoctrinated into the Liver Kingdom).

table otm